GodhoodCan’tBeHalved
by thief.apprentice
Summary: Godhood can be given, earned, and inherited. It can be seized and stolen. It cannot, however, be watered down through a bloodline. You either have it, or you don’t. What if Uma didn’t jump in to help Mal fight Audrey in time? What would’ve happened instead? Crossposted on AO3


Audrey was too strong for Mal without Hades' Ember. Uma was right, she didn't stand a chance. She was going to lose.

Audrey's attacks only grew stronger as the fight drew on, pulses from the Scepter tearing at Mal's dwindling magic. Mal didn't dare breathe fire in fear of hurting Celia, and every wasted moment just served to weaken her more. She couldn't keep going at this rate. Audrey was going to win.

Mal's wings shook. Her fae powers faded remarkably fast in the face of her mother's scepter wielded by an evil heart. With a wisp of smoke and a whimper, Mal retook her human form. Her hair disheveled, wisps sticking to her sweat covered face, Mal breathed heavily as she lay on the ground. The vibrant purple and blue of her hair faded, turning more and more grey by the second. Her leathers had lost their luster and had become torn.

"I told you I'd win! You can't do anything, Mal! You've lost! You're nothing! You will never be queen! I AM QUEEN! There's no one left to help you this time! You've been abandoned by those you betrayed. Oh, the irony! This is the end," Audrey taunted, a cruel smirk gracing her insane features. Celia huddled in the corner of the tower, terrified at what she saw—and the fact there was nothing she could do to help.

Mal shakily stood to her feet, face wan and pale, with skin stretched too tight over her features. Her hair hung limp across her shoulders. She looked drained, lifeless.

"Congrats Audrey," she spoke softly, as if she couldn't speak any louder, "Looks like you've won. What are you going to do now? The kingdom you so desired is either asleep, turned to stone, or a villain locked behind a barrier. What's there left for you to rule?

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. If you wake them up, they'll hate you. If you make them forget, well, no spell lasts forever. They'll remember eventually, and turn against you. You'll never be the real queen, just a dictator. That's the truth about being a villain, it never gets you anywhere at the end of the day." Mal smiled, a broken thing that stretched her face into a twisted grimace.

Audrey shrieked with rage at being called out. Uma and Harry ran into the courtyard just in time to see her let out a bolt of pink and green lightning straight towards Mal's heart.

Everything happened quickly after that. Uma screamed in shock, Harry let out a yell of rage, and Celia started crying harder. They were mad at Mal, but didn't want her dead. They'd lashed out in the face of her reveal, yes, and Celia had made a rash decision destroying the ember, but they'd never wanted this to happen. If only they'd been able to keep their tempers in check. Uma and Harry started to run towards Mal in an attempt to help, hoping they were in time to make a difference.

It was pointless though. The lightning hit Mal's chest and seemed to disappear. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as Audrey's laughter filled the courtyard. She fell backwards, and Harry scrambled to catch her before she hit the cobblestone. Uma sent out a blast of pure, instinctual power with her necklace to create a shield around them, and desperately cradled Mal's head and Harry held her tight.

They were too late. The made-worthless ember fell from Mal's grasp and clinked hauntingly against the worn stone, its dim nature accusing Uma, Harry, and Celia for their actions.

A single tear ran down Mal's cheek as she shakily breathed. Her fingers twitched with shock and pain after Audrey's strike, muscles locking and relaxing as they pulsed with unnatural energy.

"I'm so sorry, Mal," Uma whispered to the dying girl. "This is my fault. If I hadn't been so stubborn—"

"If we hadn't been so stubborn," Harry interrupted, unusually solemn. "This is all our faults. We should've forgiven you. You—"

"Were just scared for yourself. We should've realized that and not been so hurt. We never should have left you to deal with this alone. We were supposed to watch your back." Uma finished. The captain and her first mate looked anguished. They had cared about the girl in their arms for years, despite all the fighting they'd had over time.

Mal didn't respond, just silently cried another tear (only the second anyone had ever seen run down her face, she had always been too strong to cry in front of someone else), and started to close her eyes. Harry clutched her to his chest as her breathing stopped, his own tears leaking out. Where was her crew? Where was Ben? the three pirates thought. Why weren't they here to help her?

Audrey interrupted their mourning with another cackle.

"Well, there's your queen!! Dead on the ground, because of **me**. I win! Ha! What are you going to do now?" she gloated.

Uma rose in sheer anger, and with a scream of choked rage, cast a spell the likes of which hadn't been seen from the Shell in many years, which stole Audrey's voice and sent her tumbling backwards. Harry gently laid Mal on the ground before standing behind his captain in the face of this villain. Celia took Audrey's distraction as a chance to scurry down the tower, and ran behind the pair for safety.

Uma's spell didn't last long, the combined power for the Scepter and the Crown overwhelmed the necklace's power like it was nothing. But it scared Audrey to realize she wasn't untouchable despite Mal being dead, and she shouted:

"This isn't the end! I'll be back soon! Mal can't save you any more! The kingdom is mine now! I'll be back!"

.

.

.

Too focused on Audrey and her warning, no one noticed when Hades' Ember began to pulse again. It's glow grew from nothing to a spark, to a flame, to a true ember of power. One moment it was a worthless piece of glass lying on the stones, and the next it was an ancient relic of power clutched in Mal's dead hand. Between one beat and the next, it was gone.

By the time anyone turned around, both Mal and the ember were nowhere to be seen.

.

.

.

"Wher' di' Mal's body go?"

"That **bitch**! Audrey!!"

"No! Mal!"

.

.

.

"...guys? What happened?"


End file.
